Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner made goalscoring returns from injury on Wednesday as Arsenal thrashed Newcastle United 4-0 away to reach the last eight of the League Cup.
Action from the world of European football.
After a week when Wayne Rooney hogged the headlines, his stand-in Javier Hernandez scored twice to secure Manchester United's first away win in the Premier League this season in a 2-1 triumph at Stoke City on Sunday.
Wayne Rooney's future is on the mind of every Manchester United fan but it is the club's current Premier League form that should concern them more as they visit Stoke City on Sunday on a run of four straight away league draws.
Holders and FA Cup favourites Chelsea were handed a home tie against Cardiff City when the fifth-round draw was made on Sunday.
Arsenal joined Manchester United and Liverpool on the FA Cup scrapheap on Sunday when Ricardo Fuller's double helped Stoke City to a 3-1 fourth round victory at the Britannia Stadium.
Rafa Benitez's much-changed side with a youthful streak had looked set to coast through when Sean Longstaff's deflected shot put them ahead after 56 seconds and Callum Roberts volleyed home a second four years since his only other Newcastle appearance.
Chelsea take on Hull City in the opening match of the English Premier League on Saturday, August 15, at 1715 IST.
Robert Huth scored with virtually the last kick of the match to earn Stoke City their first Premier League points of the season with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Monday.
Chelsea secured the Premier League crown in magnificent fashion on Sunday with an 8-0 thrashing of 10-man Wigan Athletic in a party atmosphere at Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City's defence has been particularly charitable in the run-up to Christmas and new manager Roberto Mancini's first task will be to inject some Scrooge-like meanness. Italian coaches are renowned for their devotion to miserly defending and the former Sampdoria striker will not tolerate donations to Stoke City on Boxing Day as he begins his reign at the world's richest club.
Egypt have gambled on Mohamed Salah returning to fitness in the coming weeks by naming him in their 23-man squad for this month's World Cup in Russia.
Two penalties by captain Ryan Giggs led Manchester United to a 3-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur that took them two points clear of Chelsea at the top of the Premier League despite being without Wayne Rooney on Saturday.
Chelsea's goal-rush was staunched by Stoke City but the Premier League champions maintained their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 home victory.
Following is a match by match look at the English Premier League's weekend fixtures:
Holders Manchester United, featuring an on-target Michael Owen among their second string, reached the League Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory at Championship (second division) side Barnsley on Tuesday.
Manchester United took advantage of Chelsea's inactivity on Saturday to reclaim top spot in the Premier League, the 35-year-old Paul Scholes clinching a 1-0 victory at struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers. The champions, without injured striker Wayne Rooney, laboured at Molineux but Scholes pounced for his 100th league goal after 73 minutes to put United on 63 points, two ahead of Chelsea who are in FA Cup action against Stoke City on Sunday.
Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial struck late goals as Manchester United claimed a scrappy 2-0 victory over Everton at a bitterly cold Goodison Park,
Stoke City defender Ryan Shawcross was called into the England squad for the first time on Saturday, hours after he had been sent off for a challenge that left Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey with a serious leg injury.
Chelsea lost 4-2 at home to Manchester City and Arsenal closed within three points of the Premier League leaders with a 3-1 win at Stoke City marred by a horrific leg injury to Aaron Ramsey Saturday. City scored a memorable victory at Stamford Bridge where the drama started before kickoff with a first meeting between former Chelsea team mates John Terry and Wayne Bridge since news broke of Terry's alleged affair with Bridge's former girlfriend.
Arsenal delivered a brutal lesson in fast-paced Premier League football to beat Liverpool 4-1 on Saturday, maintaining their faint title aspirations and almost certainly dashing their opponents' hopes of a top-four finish.
Two goals for Roman Pavlyuchenko and two own goals helped Tottenham Hotspur advance to an FA Cup quarter-final meeting with Fulham after a 4-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers in their fifth-round replay on Wednesday.
Champions Manchester United take on cross-town rivals Manchester City in a highly anticipated encounter on Sunday.
Former Chelsea and England captain John Terry has joined Championship side Aston Villa, the club's owner said on Monday.
The much-anticipated clash between Liverpool and ManchesterCity at Anfield on Saturday looks like a knockout to determine who can challenge Chelsea for the Premier League title.
Chelsea will be fined 25,000 pounds ($38,327) and asked for their observations on three disciplinary incidents that occurred in Saturday's eventful 2-1 defeat at London rivals West Ham United.
West Ham had lost their first three Premier League games to sit bottom of the table and their dismal start to the campaign had already sparked speculation among pundits as to whether new manager Manuel Pellegrini would see out the season.
Four wins a row have lifted Manchester United into the Premier League's top four and Louis van Gaal's managerial reign is beginning to bear fruit after a difficult start.
Former Barcelona forward Bojan Krikic earned and converted a fourth-minute penalty which sealed a scrappy encounter and left Swansea without a league win since August.
Manchester United midfielder Angel Di Maria will miss Tuesday's game against Stoke City and is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after limping out of Saturday's 3-0 win over Hull City.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Tottenham Hotspur edged closer to a possible Champions League place after a 2-1 victory at Stoke City kept them clear of the pack in the race for fourth place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Manchester United winger Nani will be out for another month but midfielder Michael Carrick is set to return for Saturday's Premier League clash at Stoke City, manager David Moyes said.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has no concerns over striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic's barren spell as he expects the Swede's 'brilliant' attitude to soon be rewarded with goals.
Former Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United manager Sam Allardyce took charge of troubled Blackburn Rovers on a three-year contract on Wednesday.
Gareth Barry scored five minutes from time to give Manchester City a 1-1 draw at Stoke City on Tuesday and lift Roberto Mancini's men above Liverpool into fourth place in the Premier League. City moved on to 45 points from 25 matches, one ahead of Liverpool who have played one game more.
Holders Chelsea eased into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 4-1 home victory over Championship (second division) side Cardiff City on Saturday while Portsmouth won by the same score at local rivals Southampton. After a season of shocks, the upsets dried up in the fifth round as Birmingham City came from behind to win 2-1 at Championship side Derby County with a last-minute goal by Liam Ridgewell while Manchester City and Stoke City drew 1-1.
The death of the 81-year-old former England keeper was announced by his former club Stoke City on Tuesday.
Stoke City survived a second-half fightback by Fulham to secure a lively 3-2 Premier League win over the Londoners at a snowy Britannia Stadium on Tuesday.
Aston Villa blew a chance to go eight points clear of Arsenal in the race for England's fourth Champions League berth Sunday after conceding two late goals against relegation-threatened Stoke City. The 2-2 draw, with Stoke cancelling out their hosts' 2-0 lead in the final three minutes, left fourth-placed Villa six points ahead of Arsenal and three adrift of second-placed Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League.
